Catholic church says 'no' to casino gaming at Liberation carnival

Gambling is not evil, but it can become evil, according the Archbishop Michael Byrnes, who recently testified in support of a bill that bans casino-style gambling at the annual Liberation Day carnival and at village fiestas.

On May 26, the Legislature unanimously passed Bill 50-34, which calls for an immediate ban. Gov. Eddie Calvo, however, had not acted on the legislation as of May 31. The governor has 10 days to either sign the bill into law, veto it, or let it lapse into law.

Byrnes, in his written testimony, said the bill is a significant step in the right direction for the community such as Guam which, he said, places great worth in things such as faith, family and culture.

He described the bill as, "a bold move to reverse a culture of recklessness and obsession which we see has been growing on our island."

Byrnes said while the archdiocese disagrees that other forms of highly addictive gambling are exempted from the bill, the archdiocese commends the bill's authors.

Freshman Sen. Telena Nelson, D-Dededo, introduced the bill, which repeals a section of Guam law that has allowed the Mayors’ Council of Guam and the Liberation Historical Society, a nonprofit group, to run gambling activities during fairs and fiestas.

"We encourage more sincere examination of such elements or pastimes in our community that endanger the livelihood of individuals and families," Byrnes said in his letter to senators.

The archbishop said the archdiocese discourages gambling because of its proven capacity to destroy people, families and entire communities.

"Though the Catholic Church does not teach that gambling is intrinsically evil, it often becomes dangerous and a source of evil because of many of its forms' addictive nature that capitalizes on man's desire for fun, pleasure and money bolstered by false sense of empowerment," Byrnes wrote.

"Damage is often inflicted swiftly. Hundreds of dollars can be squandered within seconds," Byrnes wrote.

He said priests counsel people and families who have lost money, possessions, marriages, their peace and dignity, because they could not resist gambling's devastating enticement.

"They come to our doorstep broken," the archbishop said in his testimony.

The Mayors’ Council has opposed the measure, stating that Liberation activities rely on the revenue generated from the casino operations. At this year's planned Liberation carnival grounds, the first structure to go up was the casino. Mayors are scheduled to meet next week to discuss liberation activities and the carnival.